According to a survey of 2,000 women by the U.K. parenting website Channel Mum, the average amount of birthing spectators for women in their teens and 20s is eight. (Yes, you read that right -- eight!) What's more is nearly one-quarter of these Millennial moms are sharing their labor and delivery experiences via social media.

A couple of other interesting tidbits from the survey: Mothers-in-law are now the third most popular birthing supporter, after partners and mom. And, one in 25 of the women surveyed opted for their own fathers to be in the delivery room. For more information about the survey, read this article from The Telegraph.

It comes as no surprise to me that more younger moms are sharing their deliveries on social media. But honestly, I'm floored at the average amount of people piling into the delivery room for the big show! (The only other person in the delivery room with me was my husband.) I can't imagine giving eight people, in addition to the gaggle of medical professionals, front-row seats to my battered lady bits -- not to mention the fluids/pain/stretching/tearing and general vulnerability that comes with childbirth.

On the other hand, sharing this life-changing event with more loved ones is probably an amazing experience for many women. To each their own.

Michelle Stein

New research shows the way mothers communicate with their babies can have a profound impact on a child's social skills later on in life.

A study from the University of York suggests the level of "mind-mindedness" moms have when interacting with their little ones influences kids' understanding of the thoughts and emotions of others.

Published in the British Journal of Development Psychology, the study looked at 40 pairs of moms and infants when the babies were 10, 12, 16 and 20 months old. Psychologists homed in on the language used by mothers as they played with their babies for 10 minutes, noting when a mom commented on her baby's thought process (or mind-mindedness.)

When the children were 5 or 6 years old, researchers assessed their socio-cognitive abilities in order to determine how well they understood others' thoughts. Researchers found that children were able to relate better to others at age 5, if their mothers had frequently used mind-mindedness comments or phrases. Examples of mind-mindedness comments include, "oh, you seem frustrated," or "I see that toy makes you happy, doesn't it?" For more information about the study, read more in this news release from the University of York.

This new research is fascinating. I know that speaking and reading aloud to your baby helps with language development, but I never thought about how certain interactions could influence the way a child relates to others' emotions. These findings serve as more proof that babies pick up on more than we might notice.

Featured photo via Thinkstock

What do you think of this study? Do you frequently use "mind-mindedness" when speaking to your baby?

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Donald Trump has done it again.

Except this time, it's breastfeeding moms who are outraged by his inflammatory words. The New York Times reports the billionaire businessman exploded into a rage, after a female lawyer requested a medical break from deposition in order to pump breastmilk for her 3-month-old daughter.

Lawyer couple Elizabeth Beck and her husband were questioning Trump in court about a failed Florida real estate project back in 2011, when Beck requested the break -- which had been negotiated beforehand. This was immediately contested by Trump and his lawyers, who insisted on continuing. When Beck pulled out her breast pump to indicate her immediate need for the break, Trump exploded.

"He got up, his face got red, he shook his finger at me and he screamed, 'You're disgusting, you're disgusting,' and he ran out of there," Beck told CNN.

Trump's lawyer, Alan Garten, told The New York Times the outburst "was in no way a statement about her decision to breastfeed or pump ... It was solely the fact that she was appearing to do it in the middle of a deposition." Garten said they thought Beck was using her pumping break as a way to sneak extra time to think of questions for Trump.

I'm going to be honest with you -- I'm not a huge fan of Donald Trump. Even so, it seems like he's a little out of touch with some of the realities that working moms face. Whether the "disgusting" comment was aimed at the actual pumping of breastmilk or the unwanted break in deposition, the fact is a nursing mom's gotta pump.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Here's some fantastic news for parents (like me) who have been blessed with a "strong-willed" child: Defiant kids tend to make more money in adulthood than their rule-abiding counterparts, according to new research published in Developmental Psychology.

For the study -- which began in the 1960s -- researchers looked at 745 kids from Luxembourg, noting their behaviors starting at age 12. Kids filled out questionnaires about their at-home and at-school behaviors, while teachers reported about their traits as students. Over a 40-year span, the research team followed these kids, comparing their eventual career success in adulthood with their childhood behavioral tendencies.

One of the most influential indicators of success was a child's willingness to resist authority, the study found. These rule-breaking kids were more likely than their peers to stay in school and to eventually earn advanced degrees.

Researchers suggest that these higher rates of career success stem from a “higher willingness to stand up for their own interests and aims," reports The Sidney Morning Journal. These higher success rates might also be explained by a tendency for unethical behavior in order to get ahead, they speculated. (For more information about this study, read this article from The Sidney Morning Journal.)

My nearly 4-year-old son definitely pushes the limits of my patience (and my husband's) on a daily basis by refusing to do what he's asked. Some days are better than others (and I realize he's still only 3,) but it can still be pretty darn frustrating. At least there's a potential silver lining to his defiance of our authority, right? Maybe when he's raking in the dough, he'll be willing to put some of those extra dollars toward our early retirement? Or a vacation to the Bahamas?

For the study, researchers surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. moms with babies ranging from 2 months to 6 months of age. These mothers were asked about the advice they had been given on breastfeeding, pacifiers, vaccines and infant sleep location and position.

Here a few highlights from the study:

Doctors: As much as 15 percent of advice moms received from doctors on breastfeeding and pacifiers didn't match recommendations.

Family: More than 20 percent of advice from family went against AAP recommendations. Family advice concerning pacifiers, infant sleep location and position went against recommendations 33 percent of the time.

Media: More than 25 percent of moms who got advice about vaccines from the media received info that was not consistent with AAP recommendations.

Sleep: Twenty-six percent of advice about sleeping positions went against AAP recommendations, and nearly 29 percent of moms were misinformed about where infants should sleep.

Information overload was a very real source of stress for me as a new mom. Between books, websites, doctors and well-meaning family members, the parenting advice didn't always match up. What's a new mom to do? I defaulted to our pediatrician and reputable websites, choosing to ignore family advice that didn't align with these sources. And when in doubt, I trusted my informed gut.

Michelle Stein

Today, the governing board of the Boy Scouts of America is expected to life its ban on openly gay adult employees and volunteers serving as leaders -- a move that is still very controversial among the majority of its troops, which are run by faith-based groups. This decision will come two years after the board officially permitted openly gay youth in Boy Scouts.

The resolution would still allow religiously-chartered troops to discriminate by continuing "to choose adult leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own," according to a statement by the Boy Scouts of America earlier in July. This detail is unsettling to many because roughly 70 percent of Boy Scout troops are run by faith-based groups -- many of which are Mormon, Catholic, Southern Baptist and Muslim -- who do not accept gay equality.

My thoughts on the impending decision are this: It's a step in the right direction toward equality, yet it doesn't make sense entirely. If the majority of Boy Scout troops can still discriminate based on sexual orientation, then it's only sending out mixed messages. In my opinion, if the Girl Scouts of the USA can manage to offer equal rights across the board, the boys can probably figure out how to do it, too.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Parenthood has a way of making us swell with pride over the strangest things.

If you would have told me four years ago that a diaper filled with tar-like crap would make me proud, I would have laughed in your face. But you know what? That first poop in the hospital was freaking awesome. (Mostly because my husband was the one changing it.) And the very first time my son spelled out "poop" with his magnetic letters practically filled my eyes with tears. (Are you sensing a theme, here?)

Sure, the more important milestones -- smiling, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, talking -- were great, too. But here are some of the more unexpected reasons I've been proud of my kids over the years:

1. He finally conquered tummy time without screaming -- or spitting up all over everything! *dance party*

2. He shared his milk with SpongeBob.

3. She stacked this impressive tower of cat food while I cleaned up from lunch.

(Click through the slideshow, below, for more weird times my kids have made me proud!)

4. After months of failure, she finally caught Frank's tail.

5. He's not doing it in this photo, but during most of his first preschool program, Z had both hands shoved down the front of his pants. Still proud? You better believe it.

6. She did this when I asked her to sit on the potty. Close, right?

7. He beat the snot out of all the other little kids at his first Easter egg hunt.

8. She faced her fear of bearded men.

9. He figured out how to attach the blasted cup holder to his car seat ... after I had tried and failed.

10. This petite girl devoured a slice of pizza the size of her face.

11. My son made it past a killer level in the very educational game that I downloaded on our tablet: "Don't Poop Your Pants"

12. H demonstrated the proper way to interview a source for a story.

13. When Z drew his first doodle that was recognizably human.

14. When she offered to share some toilet paper with me.

15. That time my daughter was a pro soccer player.

I suppose it's only natural to celebrate the accomplishments of our children -- even if they aren't done perfectly, or aren't particularly extraordinary. It's like confirmation of our awesome parenting skills. Or, something like that.

During those first few weeks of this motherhood gig, I know I was pretty much in awe every single day. I mean, I helped create this tiny life. And now it's smiling at me. And rolling over. And peeing in my face. And laughing hysterically while running over our cats in the walker. And not pooping on the floor, right behind the potty chair.

The thing is, parenthood comes with plenty of obvious opportunities to be proud of our kids. But I'm also having a blast celebrating the (bizarrely) unexpected ones along the way.

Share your thoughts! What weird things have made you proud of your kids?

Michelle Stein

This recall involves the UPPAbaby 2015 CRUZ , 2015 VISTA strollers and 2015 RumbleSeat, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC.) While no injuries have been reported so far, the baby gear company received a total of 22 reports of young children biting off a piece of the bumper bar foam.

Pictured above is the UPPAbaby 2015 Vista stroller. (Photo via CPSC)

Although this is officially considered a recall, consumers don't need to return their products to stores. Instead, they are advised to stop using and remove the bumper bar on these strollers and RumbleSeats immediately. Consumers should then contact UPPAbaby to receive a free bumper bar cover and warning label. To learn more about the UPPAbaby recall, visit the CPSC website, call 800-540-8694 or send an email to contact@uppababy.com.

With this recall added to the IKEA dressers and chests recall on Wednesday, it's definitely been a tough few days for consumers who live with small children. At least measures are being taken to make sure these products are safer for everyone.

The seat comes with a receiver that is plugged into the diagnostic port that mechanics use to check your car's system, Today reports. Once a vehicle starts moving, this receiver is linked via Wifi to a sensor on the seat's chest clip. After the car is stopped and turned off, an alarm sounds twice -- reminding parents that there is still a baby in the back seat.

In addition to alerting caregivers that baby is still in the car after the ignition is turned off, the seat also sounds an alarm if the chest clip is unbuckled during transit.

With a retail price of $149.88, this car seat model will be available for sale on Evenflo's website starting tomorrow. The product is currently on sale on Walmart's website (although it's out of stock,) and is estimated to be in stores by August.

As a mom of two, I think this new technology sounds amazing! Each time I hear about accidental deaths of young children whose caregivers were simply distracted or had a change of routine, I'm terrified that I could be capable of making the same, fatal mistake. (The seat would be helpful, too, for a distracted caregiver who might have forgotten to properly buckle in their little one.) This technology could definitely save lives, and I would be happy to see similar features from other car seat manufacturers in the near future.

Michelle Stein

This massive initiative -- affecting 7 million MALM chests and 20 million other IKEA dressers and chests of varying models -- comes after two reported deaths involving the popular Swedish furniture brand, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC.)

In 2014, a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pa., died after a MALM six-drawer chest tipped over and pinned him against his bed. Another 2014 incident involved a 23-month-old boy from Snohomish, Wash., who died after becoming trapped under a three-drawer MALM chest that had fallen on him. A total of 14 other tip-over reports have been received, resulting in four injuries.

Pictured above is a MALM six-drawer chest from IKEA.

The CPSC urges consumers to immediately stop using all IKEA children's dressers and chests that are taller than 23.5 inches, as well as adult dressers and chests taller than 29.5 inches -- unless they are anchored securely to the wall. A free wall anchoring kit provided by IKEA should be used to safely secure the dressers and chests. To receive a free wall anchoring kit, visit an IKEA retail store, go to www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether, or call (888) 966-4532. Get more details on the IKEA repair program from CPSC.

A child dies every two weeks and one child is injured every 24 minutes in the U.S. from TVs and other furniture tipping over, according to the CPSC. If something as simple as installing an anchor can save lives and avoid terrible injuries, perhaps it's time we all take the proper measures to ensure furniture of any brand is safe for our children.

For this first-of-its-kind study, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine looked at a database of 10,263 men and followed them from age 12 for a period of up to 20 years. Pediatrician Dr. Craig Garfield and colleagues examined how body mass index (BMI) changed over time as men became fathers (or not.)

Here's the lowdown on fatherhood-related weight gain, according to the study:

Becoming a father was linked to roughly a 4-pound weight gain over the study period.

Remaining child-free was linked with a 1.4-pound weight loss for a man who was 6 feet tall.

My husband definitely has the whole dad bod going on -- something that more and more young women, especially, seem drawn to these days. (Confession: I don't mind it either.) I've noticed, too, that his dad pooch tends to grow ever so slightly when I'm pregnant. But this sympathy weight gain is a different story, entirely.

(Click here for more details about this study, or check out this Time article.)

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Growing up in poverty not only takes emotional, developmental and academic tolls on children -- it physically affects the structure of their brains, according to a new study published today in JAMA Pediatrics.

Kids who live in poverty are at risk for having as much as 10 percent less gray matter in many areas of the brain that are linked with academic skills. "We used to think of poverty as a 'social' issue, but what we are learning now is that it is a biomedical issue that is affecting brain growth," lead study author Seth Pollak, told HealthDay.

For the study, researchers looked at MRI scans from 289 kids between the ages of 4 and 22. They analyzed the amount of gray matter in the brain as a whole and in specific areas, including the frontal lobe, temporal lobe and hippocampus.

Here are some depressing stats from the research:

Children who lived below 150 percent of the federal poverty level ($36,375 for a family of four) had 3-4 percent less gray matter in these key areas of their brain than normal.

Kids who lived in families below the federal poverty level ($24,250 for a family of four in 2015,) had 8-10 percent less gray matter in these brain regions.

The research team estimated that as much as 20 percent of the gap in test scores could be explained by reduced brain development.

With 22 percent of U.S. children living in poverty -- and more than half coming from low-income households -- this is obviously a serious issue. I think the accompanying editorial by Dr. Joan L. Luby said it best, with her response: "Early childhood interventions to support the nurturing environment for these children must now become our top public health priority for the good of all."

Michelle Stein

A crying baby is nearly impossible to ignore -- but have you ever stopped and wondered why?

Now, researchers think they know why these screams are so concerning to us.

"Screams occupy their own little patch of the soundscape that doesn't seem to be used for other things," said David Poeppel, one of the authors of a new study published in Cell Biology.

The unique qualities of a scream (whether it's from a baby or an adult) actually trigger fear circuits within the brain, Poeppel explained. Some artificial sounds, such as an alarm clock or a car alarm, trigger these same fear circuits. In an attempt to figure out how these sounds cause such an instant and strong reaction, researchers used an MRI to monitor the brains of people while they listened to a number of different sounds -- including screams.

The experiment's results showed that screams caused activity within the amygdala, which is associated with generating fear responses. Furthermore, screams that listeners deemed as particularly frightful produced the greatest activity levels in this area of the brain. (For more information about the study, read this NPR article.)

After reading through this study, the physical response that our bodies have to the sounds of a screaming baby makes perfect sense to me. During our brief attempt at allowing our terrible sleeper of a son "cry it out," I found hearing my little one wail to be unbearable. We couldn't let the crying continue because it made our entire family feel anxious and ill.

It's fascinating to learn about what happens to our brains when we hear a baby scream. We can use that knowledge as a distraction next time we're stuck on a crowded airplane with a screaming baby. Think of all those active amygdala's lighting up, like a Christmas tree, together.

Michelle Stein

Working moms know how difficult it can be to find the time and space to pump breastmilk while on the job. And for mothers who also travel for business, the logistics can be even more cumbersome.

A new service, soon to be offered to breastfeeding moms at IBM, will give women who travel on the job access to free shipping of their expressed breast milk back home to their babies.

“We are going to experiment with this and see how many women are interested,” Barbara Brickmeier, vice president of benefits at IBM, told Fortune. “As long as it appeals to a segment of our population and they feel that they can better balance their work and home, we will continue it."

This is fantastic news for nursing moms at IBM, who were left with little choice but to pump and dump breast milk while traveling on the job. Although federal law requires employers to provide time and space for mothers to pump at work, there's no actual law to help women with the logistics of storing or shipping expressed breast milk while traveling for work.

When I worked full-time outside of the home, the realities of pumping were a nightmare at first. Until I got into a groove with washing, packing and toting all of the pump parts to work each day -- and then scheduling regular pumping sessions, chilling the milk and remembering to pack it in the cooler on my way out for the day -- it caused me a great bit of anxiety. And all of this was without my traveling on the job.

Hopefully, more businesses will get on board with IBM's idea. Something so simple could make a big difference in retaining and attracting women to a company.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Attention parents: Your kids want you to put down your smartphones and back away slowly.

According to a recent study by AVG Technologies, roughly one-third of children feel unimportant when mom and dad are on their cell phones while having a conversation, watching TV, eating meals and playing outside.

These results were based on a survey taken by more than 6,000 kids ages 8 to 13 from eight countries, including: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, The Czech Republic, The United Kingdom and the United States. It revealed that 32 percent of kids felt unimportant as a result of moms and dads being distracted by phones. These children said they had to compete with technology for parents' attention. Sadly, 28 percent of moms and dads agreed with this sentiment.

Additionally, 54 percent of the children surveyed felt that their parents checked their devices too often.

“With our kids picking up mobile devices at an increasingly younger age, it is really important that we set good habits within the home, early on,” said Tony Anscombe, senior security evangelist at AVG Technologies, in a news release. “Children take their cues from us for everything else, so it is only natural that they should do the same with device use. It can be hard to step away from your device at home; but with a quarter of parents telling us that they wished their child used their device less, they need to lead by example and consider how their behavior might be making their child feel.”

As a work-from-home mom, I know there are times when I need to ditch the phone and just go play with my kids. I make an effort to do this regularly, but striking a balance can be tough. I can still feel my kids competing with my blasted phone for my attention. And I hate it. It's definitely something I need to consciously work on. You know, before the roles are reversed, and I'm the one being ignored.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

While some parents choose a name for their baby early on in pregnancy, others put the decision on hold until after meeting their sweet bundle face-to-face.

The thing is, hospitals need to get an identification bracelet on your newborn as soon as possible. It's for this reason that babies are commonly tagged with generic, temporary names like "Babyboy Smith."

This convention could soon be changing in order to help avoid medical mistakes from too many babies having similar names on their ID bands, according to a new study published online in Pediatrics. For the study, Jason Adelman and colleagues implemented a new naming system that includes mom's first name, too. A baby would be tagged "Melissasboy Smith" instead of "Babyboy Smith," under this system. For twins, it would be "1Melissasboy" and "2Melissasboy," and not "BabyboyA" and "BabyboyB."

Researchers compared the rate of retract-and-reorder (RAR) events before and after starting this new naming system. (RAR is a tool that flags medical orders on a hospital's computer system that have been retracted by a healthcare provider and then placed by this same provider on a different patient in a short time frame.) What researchers found was a 36-percent decline in these wrong-patient "near-misses" after the new naming system was put into place. Although this isn't definitive proof that the new system is better than the current one, the results could certainly prompt other hospitals to give it a try.

My husband and I agreed on names for our two children shortly after the mid-pregnancy anatomy ultrasounds. Yet, I was still surprised to see that neither of them had their actual names on the hospital ID bracelets, even though we were asked about names right after they were born. The way I see it -- whether or not parents name their babies right away -- if a new naming system can help reduce near-misses and even actual mistakes, I'm all for it.

Michelle Stein

In fact, the reactions were so different that researchers could pick out who had autism and who did not with 80-percent accuracy -- based on their sniff responses only.

For the study, 18 children with autism and 18 children without autism sniffed pleasant and not-so-pleasant odors as they watched cartoons. The kids experienced 10 good smells (like flowers or shampoo) and 10 bad smells (like rotten fish or sour milk.) As the odors were introduced, researchers measured each child's sniff response -- how much they sniffed, the average rate of breathing in, the highest rate of breathing in and how long they sniffed.

Here are some highlights from the results, which were published this month in Current Biology:

Kids without autism altered the way they sniffed the bad odors within 0.3 of a second. They quickly took smaller sniffs of bad smells and bigger sniffs of pleasant smells.

Children with autism, on the other hand, continued sniffing without making any changes.

Using only the kids' reactions to bad smells, the researchers correctly identified 17 of the 18 kids without autism and 12 of the 18 children with autism.

(For more details, check out this article that appeared the U.S. National Library of Medicine.)

The study's findings don't help to explain the cause of autism, but they might offer clues to the social difficulties children with autism face, the authors explain. Furthermore, these findings could potentially lead to the development of a noninvasive diagnostic tool for very young children. Earlier diagnoses -- maybe even as early as toddlerhood -- could mean more effective interventions for children with autism.

Michelle Stein

But even the most prepared families can be thrown for a loop when the bill for a hospital maternity stay arrives -- and for good reason.

A new study published in Health Affairs has found huge disparities in the cost of childbirth across the U.S. In an attempt to understand these cost differences, a team of researchers from the Yale School of Medicine analyzed data involving nearly 275,000 low-risk births at 463 hospitals across the nation. Here's a look at some unsettling numbers:

The cost of a hospital maternity stays can run anywhere from $1,200 to as much as $12,000, according to the report. (The median was $4,215.)

The cost of a vaginal delivery ranged from $1,183 to $11,819.

For c-sections, costs were between $1,249 and $13,688.

Study author Xiao Xu and colleagues looked into a number of factors that influence childbirth costs, including: C-section delivery rate, maternal morbidity rate, length of stay and hospital characteristics (like location, size, teaching status and ownership.) Yet, these only explained about 13 percent of the cost variation among hospitals. More research is needed to explain the rest of the differences in childbirth costs, Xu noted.

"Hospital practices might be an important contributor to the variation in costs, and there may be opportunities for cost reduction," Xu said in a news release. "These may include safely reducing cesarean deliveries, increasing the coordination of care, and emphasizing the value of care through new payment and delivery systems."

If you're like me, you're probably thinking, "Holy crap! How can there be more than a $10,000 difference, in some cases?" For my two low-risk, vaginal deliveries, I managed to sneak out of the hospital with a bill for only a few grand apiece. I can't imagine paying more than 10 grand to deliver a baby. That just blows my mind.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

For pregnant women who take antidepressants, there's some good news and some bad news.

The bad news: Two commonly-used antidepressants -- Paxil and Prozac -- have been linked to an increased risk for birth defects, according to new research. The good news: Similar drugs used for depression in pregnant women do not carry this risk.

This study, published in the medical journal BMJ by researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,) analyzed previous data, along with new data on roughly 28,000 births. Here are some highlights from the findings:

Paxil and Prozac were both linked to a birth defect that obstructs blood from from the heart to the lungs.

No links between birth defects and other antidepressants (like Celexa, Lexapro and Zoloft) were found.

Although the data doesn't prove that Paxil and Prozac cause birth defects, it does offer support for earlier studies that also found links between birth defects and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs,) explained CDC researcher Jennita Reefhuis. "Women definitely should not stop taking the antidepressants they are on without talking to their doctors," she told USA Today. "But this analysis can help guide doctors and patients."

Depression during pregnancy is actually pretty common, affecting roughly 1 in 10 pregnant women. (Depression will affect 1 in 6 women -- pregnant or not -- in their lifetime, according to March of Dimes.) Finding the safest methods to help pregnant women manage their depression is crucial because the long-term effects of stopping medication altogether can also have serious consequences for both mom and baby.

Michelle Stein

If you're among the millions of privately-insured women who use chemical birth control, you've probably noticed a price drop at the drug store in recent years.

Not that this isn't a welcomed thing, but why?

Out-of-pocket spending on birth control pills and intrauterine devices (IUDs) has actually decreased markedly since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -- commonly known as Obamacare -- went into effect, according to a new study.

“We estimate that the ACA is saving the average pill user $255 per year, and the average woman receiving an IUD is saving $248,” said the study's lead author, Nora V. Becker, in a statement. “Spread over an estimated 6.88 million privately insured oral contraceptive users in the United States, consumer annual contribution to spending on the pill could be reduced by almost $1.5 billion annually.”

The study was published by University of Pennsylvania researchers in the July issue of Health Affairs. It compared prescription claims for contraceptives from a national insurer between the first six months of 2012 (before the Obamacare mandate took effect) and the first six months of 2013 (after Obamacare took effect.) On average, out-of-pocket expenses for birth control pills dropped from $32.74 to $20.37. For IUDs, the average cost went from $262.38 to $84.30.

Researchers also found decreases in spending on less commonly used forms of birth control: Emergency contraception, cervical caps and diaphragms, the implant and the injection. (For more details on the findings, read here.)

While I don't currently take any form of chemical or long-term birth control, this is obviously great news for so many other privately-insured women. More affordable access to birth control will hopefully mean fewer unexpected pregnancies and more money in the pockets of families who want to delay (or avoid entirely) the added costs of pregnancy.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

Pregnant women with epilepsy may have a higher risk of complications -- including death -- during childbirth, according to a new report published yesterday in JAMA Neurology.

In this study, there were found to be 80 deaths per 100,000 women with epilepsy compared to six deaths per 100,000 women without epilepsy. Researchers also discovered an increased risk for complications during labor for women with epilepsy, including higher chances for c-section delivery, longer hospital stays, preeclampsia, preterm labor and stillbirth.

This analysis involved roughly 4.2 million births (including more than 14,100 among women with epilepsy,) and was based on information from U.S. medical records from delivery hospitalizations between 2007 and 2011.

While the findings may seem alarming at first, keep in mind that 80 deaths out of 100,000 is still rare. It's also important to point out that this study only suggests a link between epilepsy and higher risks for complications or death, and not a direct cause-and-effect relationship. (No data was available concerning anti-seizure medicine the women might have been taking, for instance. So researchers had no way of knowing if these drugs might have played a role.)

The bottom line: Further research is needed to discover why women with epilepsy are at an elevated risk for complications during delivery, along with what can be done to avoid these negative outcomes, explained lead researcher Sarah MacDonald. "In the meantime, it may be necessary to consider pregnancies in women with epilepsy as high risk and follow them up accordingly throughout pregnancy," she said.

Michelle Stein

posted in Mom Stories

A growing number of U.S. parents are refusing vitamin K shots for their newborns -- a concerning trend that is resulting in serious medical complications.

Newborns are routinely injected with vitamin K to prevent internal bleeding. This is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Unfortunately, emergency departments are seeing a spike in vitamin K-deficient bleeding (VKDB) in infants because parents are opting out of the life-saving supplement.

In a case study published in The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Karyn Kassis with Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, explained the importance of vitamin K shots for newborns. “The risk of getting a vitamin K shot is very minimal, but the risk of not getting it is very serious,” Kassis said. “Babies who don’t get vitamin K can actually have silent bleeding internally, commonly into their brains. This could result in seizures, coma or even death. Parents should know that vitamin K-deficient bleeding is preventable.”

Both of my babies received vitamin K shots as newborns, along with the rest of the recommended testing, supplements and vaccinations. I trust healthcare experts to know what is best for my babies, so I never gave any of it a second thought. The way I look at it is this: If a quick poke can prevent something as traumatic as a seizure or a brain bleed, then why not?

Users will be able to monitor different types of bodily emissions with the device, including urine, saliva, blood, sweat, and breath. The readings can even be combined with a smartphone's GPS signal, making it possible for users to be guided to the nearest hospital or pharmacy if the results warrant.

A news release from The Optical Society doesn't say when this super-cool contraption might be available to consumers, or how much it would actually cost to get your hands on one. But I'm willing to bet that it's a heck of a lot more than a cheapo pee test at the dollar store!

For the sake of satisfying my geeky curiosity, I would absolutely jump at the opportunity to try this smartphone pregnancy test for a hypothetical third child. For the sake of accuracy, though, I'd probably confirm results with an old-fashioned home test option and a blood test at my doctor's office.